About Me

Megan Lehr is a passionate environmental, racial, education, and social justice advocate with a lifelong tie to the coast. She has been active in her community her whole life, beginning with organizing river cleanups and oyster bed restoration at age 12. In college, she worked as a research assistant collecting data on environmental justice organizations to inform the creation of the Carolina Center for Environmental Justice at her alma mater, the University of South Carolina. In addition to her environmental work, she spent three years tutoring her fellow students in writing  with the Student Success Center at USC. Since 2021, she has worked to break down structural barriers to affordable postsecondary education with uAspire. 

Beyond the office, Megan is a jeweler , rower, reader, crocheter, knitter - the list goes on! Creativity pervades her free time, and she has recently learned to crochet - she can't stop making market bags that look like fruits. She's also a lover of books of all kinds, and particularly loves retellings of classic myths. Her two cats, Bubs and Toad, are her pride and joy. She is excited to connect with you! 

PROJECT MANAGER
uAspire / Remote / 2022 - 2025

• Manage 15+ projects per year with unique partnerships, parameters, and deliverables, including written content, live presentations, practitioner training, and program review and recommendations. 
• Collaborated with the Policy team to advocate for financial aid reforms, including standardized financial aid offers, expanded Pell Grant access, Universal FAFSA implementation, and increased transparency in college affordability policies.
• Implemented organization-wide Asana standards and best practices to streamline project management, improve cross-team collaboration, and increase task accountability.
• Conduct the annual review and update process for our database of student resources, including actively gathering feedback from advisors to identify opportunities for improvement and developing a detailed work plan to propose and implement changes.
• Worked closely with the Research and Evaluation team to strategically plan curriculum, advising text bank, and curriculum flow with particular attention to the rapidly changing financial aid landscape and student economic mobility.
• Supervise all internal and external content development, including training materials, articles, success stories, tools, resources, visual media, and informative videos for a variety of audiences
• Lead the planning, reviewing, updating, and creation process of 50+ mid-form videos covering a range of financial aid and college access topics
• Plan, develop, and support creation of content for the College Board, resulting in 28 articles that have accumulated 50,000+ views.

PROJECT-BASED COLLEGE AFFORDABILITY ADVISOR
uAspire / Remote / 2021 - 2022

• Advised a diverse group of high school and college students on various college affordability topics.

• Facilitated student-facing virtual financial aid events and trained fellow advisors on the process to ensure consistency and accuracy.
• Established a standardized walkthrough process that involved creating a standardized work plan, speaking notes, updating content, and developing five new walkthroughs.
• Developed text banks for Customized Support to meet the unique needs of high school and college students served using innovative advising practices.
  

UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH ASSISTANT
Center for Environmental Justice / University of South Carolina / Spring 2021

• Founded the Carolina Center for Environmental Justice at the University of South Carolina, a first of its kind, leading efforts to bring together scholars, advocates, and community members in pursuit of environmental equity.
• Established and maintained a comprehensive national database of Environmental Justice research, with the aim of creating a network and providing a foundational research resource.
• Collaborated with a team of five undergraduate research assistants and two supervising staff members to conduct research while cultivating a collaborative and motivated team environment.

PEER WRITING TUTOR AND PEER LEADER
Student Success Center / University of South Carolina / 2018 - 2021

• Conducted over 200 personalized fifty-minute sessions for students with diverse backgrounds, including non-native English speakers, to help them develop their written and verbal communication skills.
• Through a recommendation from my Coordinator, I was assigned to collaborate and co-facilitate training sessions for recently hired fellow peer leaders.

WEEKEND STAFF MEMBER
Historic Columbia / Columbia, South Carolina / 2019 - 2021

• Guided hour-long historic house tours of four separate houses, engaging visitors in Columbia history and current community events.
• Developed an extensive working knowledge of each house’s details and the history of Columbia, South Carolina to help inform visitors while touring and to provide recommendations on other local attractions.

YOUTH ADVISOR
Summerville Saltwater Anglers / Summerville, South Carolina / 2011 - 2015

• Served on the Board of Directors as a liaison and voice for local youth to Summerville Saltwater Anglers, a family- and community-based fishing club, aimed at engaging and giving back to the community.
• Host two annual events to raise money for Dorchester Children's Advocacy Center and educate and engage families and youth with their environment, facilitating charity, giving back to the community, and fostering a love of the environment.
• Restored miles of oyster beds along the South Carolina coast.
• Removed hundreds of tons of trash from the Ashley River